Teaching STEM using PBL in 2018

Well, it has been a bit since I posted! This year, I started at a new school, teaching 8th and 9th grade STEM, along with an Urban Gardening class. While I am super stoked to be at my new school, as you can imagine, I have been a little overwhelmed!

When I was hired on, I kept trying to get a handle on what I would be teaching. 

"You will be teaching 9th grade Life Sciences/ Biotechnology- but it isn't biology!" 

"Teach your passion!"

"Just teach STEM!"

Here's the kicker- because my class is in addition to the regular science classes, I have to basically avoid the major topics for those grades!

For example, I was going to do a study on GMO and genetics with my 9th graders- nope, they are doing that in their other science classes.

I started my 8th graders with an ecosystems/ invasive species unit- surprise!- they are learning the exact same thing in regular science! 

I also decided to teach STEM using project based learning (PBL) method. 

I have never done this before. I don't know anyone else who has done this before. 

There has been a bit of a learning curve...

So, for the first half of the year, I have been focusing on putting together meaningful learning activities about topics that I feel strongly about- environmental impact and personal action. 

I have also been learning as much as I can, as fast as I can, about teaching STEM, PBL and grading based on standards and rubrics. 

Now that I have a plan for the rest of the year, I am looking forward to sharing with you everything I have been learning, as well as working on new products for my TpT store!

My resolution for 2018 is to write about once a month on the various going-ons of the classroom and about my journey into STEM and PBL. I will still be sharing recipes and fun kids activities as the come up as well.

Thank you so much for coming along on this adventure with me! Stay tuned for my next post about STEM!

PBL Posts: What is project based learning?

Hi everybody!

Today is a short post, but I am posting about something I have been wanting to do for a while- move to a PBL classroom!

What the heck is PBL? It stands for "project based learning" and is a great way to get students to become more creative and innovative thinkers! It is a method of teaching that encourages students to actively discover the information in the curriculum themselves, not to sit passively by while the teacher lectures. It is a big buzzword going around in education right now.

The general idea of PBL is to use the standards as a guide to structure a unit that will allow students to discover ideas, experiment, make mistakes and "productively struggle" to reach an understanding of the material. This is a huge undertaking! As I sit here, and think about my subject (chemistry!) I can think of units here and there that can easily fit into PBL, others not so much.

My biggest concern is that the students will not get the information they need, based upon the standard I am supposed to follow. I teach high school chemistry, and most of the information about PBL that I find is geared more toward middle school, or towards having the students choose a problem and find ways to solve it (while learning the material on the way). I have still not quite figured this part out.

A big challenge will also be that my students are not on level, as far as reading goes (so the textbook is out) and we do not have any real access to computers. I think I will still have to do a little presentation to introduce basic facts, or to move investigations along...

So, my goal for this semester is to start adding in a lesson to each unit where I will give a demonstration (or show a video) and have the students begin to study to figure it out. I am thinking that this will be sort of like a 2-4 day lab, with materials and information to guide them on their way.

I would love to hear from some other teachers, of any subject- do you use PBL or inquiry based learning? How have you implemented it? Do you have any tips for a newbie! Leave comments below, and help a teacher out!!!